Tim Byrdak says time to move on

PHOENIX – Thousands of miles from the mound where he melted, Tim Byrdak was hesitant to revisit the moment when his season – and the Mets' season – bubbled over the edge of the lobster pot.

"[Wednesday] is over and done with, to tell the truth," Byrdak said inside the visiting clubhouse at Chase Field. "That's really all I want to say about it."

He politely offered a little more, less an apology than an explanation.

"You've got a locker room full of 25 guys who are busting their [butts] off," Byrdak said. "We're competitors and that's what we strive to do. There's times you're going to have situations where you're going to disagree. You talk about it.

"It's already been handled. It's a done deal. And we move on from here."

On Wednesday afternoon, Byrdak gave up a two-run homer to Washington's Adam LaRoche in the Mets' 5-2 loss to the Nationals. It was not the home run, but the way he treated teammate Josh Thole, that caused a stir.

Upset with his catcher's pitch call, Byrdak turned his frustration on Thole and pitching coach Dan Warthen. In doing so, he touched a nerve with manager Terry Collins.

Collins has made it clear he does not want one teammate rolling another under the bus. He called a team meeting earlier this month when former reliever Pedro Beato made a comment about Thole failing to corral a pitch in the dirt.

If a player has an issue, Collins said, he better not address it in front of fans, television cameras or people who carry notebooks for a living.

Of course, part of it is frustration building to a boil. Heading into Thursday night's game, the Mets had lost six straight and 12 of 13. They had just one win since the All-Star break, when the team was only a half-game out of a wild-card spot.

But Collins said losing does not excuse the behavior.

"It can't go on," he said. "And it will not go on. Or we'll find other people. Because part of this game is learning how to deal with the adversity. Part of the adversity is losing 11 out of 12. How are you going to get out of it? Throwing equipment and battling your teammates doesn't get you out of stuff like this."

Byrdak turned to cliché to describe the elements that will carry the Mets out of this skid.

"We've just got to go out and continue to play solid baseball," Byrdak said. "And get back to what we were doing before."

Part of the problem, Byrdak said, is that the offense and defense have taken turns letting the other down.

"You have times where pitchers will be doing their thing and then hitters won't," he said. "And then the hitters will be doing their thing and the pitchers won't."

Before Thursday's game, Collins insisted he's not mad at his lefty specialist.

"Tim Byrdak has done nothing but take the baseball every day we've ever asked him to pitch," Collins said. "His frustrations got the best of him [Wednesday]."